ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IT HAS BEEN a very good year for British cinema. The list of notable productions runs the gamut from Scottish drama ‘Red Road’ to James Bond blockbuster ‘Casino Royale’. The gritty thriller ‘London To Brighton’ is one of the most accomplished debut features of the past twelve months, establishing writer/director […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IT IS MORE than five years since ‘The Rocket Post’ was filmed on location at Taransay. Director Stephen Whittaker died in February 2003, and it seemed as if the film would never secure British distribution despite picking up some favourable reviews at international festivals. Now, ‘The Rocket Post’ is finally […]

Inverness, 9-12 November 2006

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies SECRET AGENT James Bond first appeared in the pages of ‘Casino Royale’ in 1953. It is a novel that has never been filmed by the official Bond team until now, but it has been worth the wait. Going back to basics has reinvigorated the entire production, adding a fresh impetus […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies JAMES MCAVOY is one of the hottest names in British cinema. The rising Scottish star isn’t just good-looking, hard-working and fashionable, he also has the kind of versatile talent that should ensure him a long career. He has an impressive range that stretches from the endearing fawn in ‘The Chronicles […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies ITALIAN DIRECTOR Michele Placido has made a film worthy of comparison with Martin Scorsese’s ‘Goodfellas’ in ‘Romanzo Criminale’, a vivid tale of childhood friends immersed in organised crime. Based on a bestselling novel, this sweeping epic runs from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, tracing the rise and fall […]

MATT LLOYD explains the thinking behind the programme for the 4th Inverness Film Festival

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies ‘RED ROAD’ has been one of the great Scottish success stories of 2006. Invited to compete at the Cannes Film Festival in May, it became one of the discoveries of that event and was awarded the Jury Prize. It is a powerful tale of loss, guilt, revenge and redemption that […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies HOW DO YOU follow a film like ‘Lost In Translation’? That was the problem facing Sofia Coppola after her Oscar-winning triumph with that wistful, beguiling Bill Murray treat. Her follow-up is an irreverent historical yarn that turns Antonia Fraser’s respected biography of Marie Antoinette into an extravagant romp where the […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IT IS TEN years since Alan Bennett and director Nicholas Hytner collaborated on the Oscar-winning screen version of their joint stage hit ‘The Madness Of King George’. Now they seem set to enjoy a similar degree of success with the film adaptation of Bennett’s triumphant play ‘The History Boys’. Set […]